£16m is wiped off value of Rangers

MORE than £16 million has been wiped off Rangers' value on the stock market in the last four months amid a battle for power in the Ibrox boardroom.

MORE than £16 million has been wiped off Rangers' value on the stock market in the last four months amid a battle for power in the Ibrox boardroom.

Custom byline text:

MARTIN WILLIAMS

Fans have seen their shares lose almost half their value since September and the latest figures suggest continuing concerns among investors over the way the Scottish League One club is being run.

Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) shares closed at 31p yesterday, after reaching 30.4p at one point. That price was down 44.5% from the 55p reached in September at the height of shareholder disquiet over the administration of the club. The market value of RIFC has dipped from £35.8m to finish yesterday at its lowest in its first year, at £19.9m.

The slump has wiped more than 50% off the value of holdings of fans and investors who bought into a share issue in December 2012, when they were on offer for 70p.

The Rangers board won their power struggle against a group seeking change, led by former director Paul Murray.

Fans believe the only people to gain are past and present executives who managed to get shares for 1p. Former chief executive Charles Green purchased five million shares in Rangers at 1p each as part of an agreement entered into on October 31, 2012.

Drew Roberton, of the Rangers Supporters' Association, said the continuing share decline raised continuing concerns about the financial state of the club.

"It is worrying," he said. "The devil in me says, well, that tells the investors that you reap what you sow by backing the board.

"It's perhaps time for all those people who supposedly care so much about the club to put their hands in their pockets and get control of the club that way.

"I would not like to think that, as some people fear, we are heading to another insolvency event."

Chief executive Graham Wallace indicated that the club was entering a prolonged period of austerity at December's AGM when he, current chairman David Somers, under-fire finance director Brian Stockbridge and three directors were re-elected. The four so-called requisitioners - former Rangers oldco director Paul Murr-ay, former chairman Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch - all polled close to 30% of votes to scupper their hopes.

But despite a mandate from shareholders, the fall-out from the meeting had Rangers supporters and fans' representatives talking about boycotts and refusing to renew season tickets.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well and trust you then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules